Dad went to overnight camp when he was maybe 8 or so. I don’t know where it was. Tried to Google it but not much luck.

In the dining hall:

That’s all I have from camp but here are more from his home:

A few random shots:

That’s it for now!

My dad, Thomas Blake Day, liked to read and learn about the Civil War. He had tons of books which still populate his man cave. We still have to try to auction them on eBay. Next project!

He came to my second grade classroom to share what he knew with my kiddos.

The kids loved the pictures.

They were delighted to have a visitor to the classroom.

I was very proud to show my dad to the students.

I didn’t take pictures often in the classroom at the time.

I still remember these kids though I don’t recall their names.

Some of their questions were more about him than about the Civil War. Very understandable. Probably a little surprising to my dad though.

 

More clips of my father, Thomas Blake Day (July 9,1937 – May 24, 2023) when he was little.

Dad with grandmother and great aunt and playing with his push cart with his brothers

Dad swimming at beach, playing, fooling around.  Whole family at the beach and out on boat.

Uncle Bob and Dick at Military Academy:

Mamine playing badminton.  My greatgrandfather swimming in ocean.  Dad as a toddler at the beach.

 

Tommy, Bob, and Dick play at beach together and rides on dad’s shoulders:

 

Tom at parade with family:

 

Possibly at camp Half Moon, Tom’s brothers do jumps and sprints.They also pose with their parents. Tommy runs around at very end.

 

Tom plays with dog, spins in circles, does somersaults, drinks from cup, swims at beach with brothers and mother, rides tricycle with brothers at home. Can see his nursemaid at 1:49:

 

Walking with parents and feeding pigeons.Tom at very end (not at boardwalk):

 

Family (and friends?) outdoors (at home?) sledding. Tom’s dad lifts him up at the end:

 

Family outdoors at home on a cold day. It’s dark at hard to see what they’re doing much of the time:

 

A trip in the car to a place called Fountain of Youth. Is it in Florida? There are sometimes palm trees but not in every frame so not sure.

 

Toddler Tommy walking on a cold day and later on a warmer day. Hair looks blonde. He’s waving and clapping. Dick is raking leaves. Dog is with them:

 

Mamine swimming in pool. View of the car ride. Papa parading his manly chest on the beach. No scenes with Tommy.

 

Mamine putting on lotion. Papa running. Another family is with them. No sign of little Tommy. Left up north with Aunt Faye in NJ?

 

Toddler Tommy playing on a fallen tree. (It’s kind of dark). Family are walking around the neighborhood. Aunt Faye is there. Tommy’s dad carries him. There’s a dog. Grandparents? Then there is snow scene with brother Dick.

 

Tom plays with ball on a warm day. Some man is holding Tom’s hand as he walks on sidewalk:

 

I love looking at these old home movies, partly to see my dad as a kid (and other family members who are now gone) but also to see both how life was different back then and how life has stayed the same. 🌸

So it was about a year ago that we said goodbye to Dad.

We gathered to remember him.

Thank you to everyone that gathered with us!

Andre Patenaude and his family gave Mom a gift to remember Dad.

We said this prayer at his service.

“There is a place I have been told…“

“I am waiting for you in the sky”.

From the Knight Funeral Home who orchestrated Dad’s service.

Dad would have approved of the service. He would have been impressed and amazed at seeing and hearing how loved he was.

Eighty-five years earlier, his mom put together his baby book and includes some cute things.

Check this out:

And this from December 24, 1939:

To wrap up, here’s dad fixing to ride off down the road. Free.

My dad’s parents had a video camera.  There’s no sound.  Here are a bunch of snippets:

Interspersed with the videos of dad are videos of his brothers, Bob and Dick, at camp.

He’s literally strapped into his carriage to keep him from crawling out.

I don’t know but it looks more dangerous being strapped in.

It’s interesting how the adults are smoking at camp.

They’re watching the kids do their sports.

The grandparents are Mamine’s parents, the Keeneys.

One of Dad’s brothers is Bob, Robert Keeney Day.

His other brother is Dick, Richard Keeney Day.

His mother is Beatrice Keeney Day

His father is Robert Blake Day.

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Phew.  That was a lot of work to get on the page!  It’s been a while since I’ve embedded YouTube videos and I couldn’t remember how.  Also, YouTube is a little different.  I had to show them my driver’s license!  And I had to use my laptop for this post.  All the rest I used my phone, just hanging out by the pool.

Wow it made me think a lot about my dad!  Of course I wasn’t alive when he was a baby, but I had lots of memories come to me from when I was a kid with my dad.  It’s almost like he’s still alive!  I see families at the pool and think of being at Lake George with my dad.  I remember him in his rocking chair on the porch.  He was always there reading in the late afternoon.  He had cocktails in the evening along with grilling dinner.  He wasn’t always especially talkative.  He was peaceful.

Tommy Day 1937-38

Don’t know who’s holding him.

Is that his hand?

Can hold head up.

Daddy looks pretty happy. Always wore a tie.

Just getting started in life.

Sitting up!

Where he lived.

Another view.

Peering over the side of the carriage.

Tommy’s mom and dad.

Time to clean up!

Love this shot of him walking. So happy!

Here’s the message his mommy wrote to him: Tommy dear. Be strong. All habits, inherited or acquired need self control and will power. Be considerate. Not only of others who love you but of everyone. Be kind and helpful. It’s the little things in life that count. Be unselfish. You will be happier. Be a good sport. Your friends will be many. Be honest. It pays in the long run. Be a man but be yourself, remembering your mother will be your friend at all times because she loves you.

She cared about him so much! He was very fortunate to have had an awesome mom. 🙌

Dad.

I love looking at pictures of him as a kid. First of all he’s so cute. He looks like he’s having a lot of fun. He was robust and healthy unlike in his later years.

I love all the hats! It’s funny how kids used to wear the short pants back then. The girl in the pics is a neighbor he hung out with all the time. Here’s Tommy at his birthday party:

When an elephant came around the neighborhood:

More:

It was a year ago that he left us. What a funny guy! He liked telling stories and playing golf and going out with his friends. He liked his boat while he still had it. He loved to read and to watch movies, especially westerns. He kept up on current events and loved to read about Civil War history. He and he friend Gordon would go on trips to visit battle sites. He cared about veterans. He was cremated and will be buried in Randolph, VT.

Lots of pics

I love this pic of my dad with his dad. He’s being silly and looks so happy. It’s one of the few photos of my grandfather when he’s not wearing a suit!

There’s more.

And here’s my dad with his son, Tommy (as he was called then). Dad is so proud!

There’s more.

Here he is providing a lap.

There’s more.

Here’s a skip of the generations:

There’s more.

Here’s dad with all of us.

There’s more.

And here we all are enjoying Lake George, Dad’s favorite place.

Speaking of Lake George, here’s Dad’s true favorite place, the hammock. We scattered some of his ashes here.

I actually don’t know where this is. He was very young, so not sure if it was Lake George.

At Linda’s wedding:

Dad had pics of his grandsons posted by his desk in his mancave. Here are Linda and Mark’s kids, the Colgans.

Here’s Dad in his truck in later years.

Another one of Dad in his hammock, this time sleeping. At Lake George. No idea when. It was his happy place. Let’s just guess maybe he was 55.

Before Willie, Dad had Rascal. Here’s Rascal under the covers while Dad reads in bed.

Smiling!

I don’t know the name of his childhood dog. Here’s Dad with his dad and their dog.

Here’s dad at his brother Bob’s house Christmas Day. He loved the lively mood at these dinners. Everyone was highly lubricated with hard liquor. Champagne was next.

I think this dog’s name was Cinder.

Speaking of Christmas, here’s dad with the gun Santa brought him. No idea if it’s real.

Here’s Dad with his big brother.

Only a few months old. His dad was around fifty or so.

And here he is with his beloved mom, Beatrice.

Here’s Dad with both his brothers and his mom. Another rare sight of Dad in a suit.

Dad had a good life. He was loved and well taken care of. Family was super important to him. He’s now reunited with the loved ones who departed before him. In that giant hammock in the sky.

It’s been almost a year since my dad passed away.  He had covid.  And heart disease.  And COPD.  And diabetes.  And it ended with a stroke.  Quickly.  As he had always hoped he would go.  It was tough to lose him.

Here’s a voice mail he left me during the winter before he passed:

voicemail

He was always concerned about me getting up the driveway when it snowed.  Sometimes he would help me get the car parked somewhere and drive me up in his truck.  On this particular day my car ended up making it!

When I was an elementary school teacher, my dad visited to teach about the civil war:

Click here to see pics

In the weeks that followed we sorted through tons of photos, going back decades.  He lived a long life.  He was 86.

It’s been my plan to train Neo. I’ve had two dogs so far and didn’t train them. I mean I sort of trained them in subtle ways but didn’t make it a project. But this time I’m serious.

So even though I really need to be shopping for a car since I don’t currently have one that functions, I spent some time yesterday shopping for a puppy trainer. Also available are puppy classes, the first one called Puppy Kindergarten.

There’s no reason why I couldn’t do both. So far I think I’m doing okay, but I want to get started soon. Neo is getting more and more comfortable in his new home which is good. But I want him to learn to come when he’s called and stay when he’s told to stay.

It’s a matter of safety. And I want him to be emotionally healthy while he’s learning to function in society. So far he’s a sweet little angel. I want to keep it that way.